How Marketing Can Build Your Business (And It’s Not Just About ROI)

Getting it right is essential to building a brand, telling your story, highlighting product benefits, encouraging sales, launching products, reaching new markets, or helping your company to grow…to name a few goals. 

Where do you start? 

You can hire an in-house marketing professional or buy in marketing when needed.  Either way, it is best done consistently, with frequent messaging and campaigns running alongside. 

Remember, you don’t have to utilise every available channel; good marketing is about communicating the right message in the right place, at the right time and in the right way. 

Research, analyse, plan, create, execute, evaluate.

Here’s what should be considered for your marketing this year and as you plan for 2025.

Who is Your Audience?

Could you review your target audience?

Ask yourself the following:

• Who is currently interested in or buying your product/services? 

• Who are you currently marketing to?

• Are the audiences you market to still relevant?

• Have you missed anyone out?

• Could anyone else use your product/service you haven’t considered?

• Look through your customer base – who are they, and can you market to more like them?

Tailored messaging

The biggest mistake we see is taking a blanket approach to communications. Among your target audience, there will be many sub-audiences, such as:

• New prospects/potential customers
• People who haven’t heard of you
• Those who have but are yet to engage or purchase
• Frequent customers
• Lapsed buyers

One size does not fit all. Each needs a tailored message that makes them feel understood and valued.

What do you need to tell your audiences?

So many times, we see marketing messages that please the company rather than interest the prospect or encourage a sale.

Your audience will have a problem that your product/service can solve – which will be slightly different for each sub-audience. Identify what it is, and tell them how your offering solves it. Tell them your USP – Unique Selling Proposition (what makes you stand out, define, or make you different).

Where are they?

It’s essential to understand which channels are most appropriate for each different audience. We’ve spoken to many stressed business owners who try to tick off all social media channels, advertise in every magazine, talking at any event that’s offered – all without seriously considering which will give them the best return on both exposure and potential sales.

For example, if you’re trying to reach the 65+ age bracket, a magazine advert might be more suitable for them; likewise, if you’re also talking to 20-somethings, Instagram or TikTok are likely better channels. Use the correct language for each audience – scale it up or down on the formality and use of slang.

Tip: No jargon – unless you’re sure it will be understood and help with message delivery and understanding. Otherwise, you’re just putting out words your audience doesn’t understand – and won’t resonate to encourage interest or a transaction.

Marketing Channels

Identifying the right channels

When considering the different platforms and channels, ask yourself:

• Is my audience here? If they’re not, is the audience who buys for them there – not all end users purchase the products/services (e.g. healthcare – the target audience is the healthcare practitioner, not the patient usually).
• Is the message I’m giving on this channel what the audience wants to hear / will respond to? (Remember what we said earlier about blanket marketing not working).
• Is this visual working – does it match the audience?
• What am I getting from this channel – is there a return? (It is not just ROI; marketing is about reputation, confidence, recognition, and trust, too).

Different channels to consider

Social media—use the ones that work for your product/service, allowing you to create content that is relevant to your target market and works on that platform.

Website – you have complete control of this, so make sure it’s updated, relevant and tells your audience what they need to know

E-marketing – use your database to send direct and targeted messages via email. Your customer data is such a valuable asset – ignoring it could be losing your interest and sales!

Direct mail – sending marketing through the post (it’s not dead, as some might think!)

Advertising – select the right places where your audience will see you – don’t waste your time in areas they won’t. And never buy advertising just because it’s offered as a deal, or has to be purchased – the ad rep will meet their target needs rather than your marketing ones.

Speaking—If you are offered speaking opportunities or seek to do them, ensure there is a purpose to them. Consider becoming a respected expert in your field to build reputation and confidence. Make sure your target audience is there—appearances are good, but they must be with purpose.

Exhibiting – a great way to show off your company, products, services and expertise, but make sure you know who will be attending and tailor your marketing to them – tell them what’s relevant.

Networking – find events where your potential clients are, plus those who can refer you to them. Not all networking will be effective for you, so only spend time where you can build a customer base, source suitable suppliers and partnerships or build a reputation.

Events, such as industry events or exhibitions, are also great ways to find the right people. The more people you meet, the more your brand is out there, with you as the face of it. Remember to present yourself well—be well-groomed, clean, and ready with business cards and knowledge of your business, products, and services.

Customer Journey

Customer Service

Customer service is such a big deal. Make sure you’re getting it right because you could have the best product/service, but if delivery is poor, it won’t matter. A bad review from a disgruntled customer is quick and easy to write – and spread!

Do what you say you’ll do - if delivery is within 48 hours, make sure it is – and use reliable couriers.

Describe your products/services accurately – no one wants something of lower quality.
If there’s a problem, solve it—make it very easy for a customer to let you know something has gone wrong and fix it quickly so that the service they expected is what they get. An unexpected goodwill gesture will usually go a long way to restoring faith, keeping the customer, and staving off a bad review or exiting customer.

Look at what customers complain about frequently—make a change so this doesn’t happen again.

Treat your customers like the superstars they are – they could have bought anywhere, but they bought with you. Don’t let poor customer care be the reason they go to your competitor. 

Once you have a customer, keep them.
When a customer decides to find out more or buy, the test impresses them enough to gain a sale and show them who you are and are worth sticking with.
Once your investment in gaining new customers has been rewarded with them making a purchase, the next step is to keep them there, coming back in the future and telling others about you, too. A lifetime customer is the holy grail.

Some key points for your customer service to-do list:

• From the moment they buy, is the customer journey good enough?
• Do they get an order confirmation?
• Is it professional, branded, informative, well written and clear?
• Can they get in touch?
• What’s your refund policy and procedure?
• Do they have all they need to know?
• Is your service delivery what you promised or what they expected?
• Is there any follow-up?
• Are you marketing to them again for another sale or to let them know about other products/services?
• Are you rewarding loyalty?
  
  

Customer Feedback

Reviews, Testimonials, Case Studies

A customer review telling other potential customers about your excellent product/service is the digital version of word-of-mouth advertising.
It’s the best endorsement of your brand, products, services and company. A review involves someone liking your offering so much that they took the time to write it – and in today’s whirlwind world, that’s a big commitment.

Reviews/testimonials - ask for reviews, don’t just assume they will happen. Once the sale has been made, ask for a review or ask if there is anything you could have done better.
A written review on a third-party website such as Google, Trip Advisor or Trust Pilot, for example, will be read by others considering making a sale and could be what tips a query into a transaction – and it won’t have cost you much.

Case studies are also compelling – they take a bit more time to curate and need more effort from the customers, but they give more information about what you do, why, who for and what difference it made to that customer. They can be used on your digital platforms, in proposals, pitches, or on your website, plus give you real-life examples to talk about.

UGC stands for User-generated content. It is customers doing your marketing for you—showing off their new purchase because they are pleased with it, letting others know why and what it brings to their lives, and sharing what problem it solves.

Customer Loyalty & Reward

Reward loyalty
If you have a loyal customer base – people who buy again or refer others, do you reward them for it?  It doesn’t have to be monetary. A thank you goes a long way, acknowledges their commitment, and gives you a reason to get in touch. Don’t take their sale for granted—nurture your best customers and know who they are. Your customer database can give you much insight into your customers and how they interact with your brand.

Find some time to look at who is a champion and consider how you can reward them. Choose your top spenders, most frequent customers, and those who have reviewed you and referred others to your brand. There are so many ways to reward loyalty, and if you’re doing it while competitors aren’t, then it’s time and resource well spent.

Editorial

This area often scares businesses – so they don’t do it.
But it’s a great way of raising your profile, showing your credibility and gaining some brilliant kudos for your brand.

TIP: Editorial is NEVER advertising. It is a way of gaining exposure for your brand, but it can never be ‘salesy’. It also should never be paid for – that’s advertising and can be booked by anyone with the right money. Editorial is gained because of integrity – you have something worth sharing that isn’t simply about pushing a product.

Publications are looking for good content ideas on their editorial pages that advertisers don’t pay for because their readers want quality, relevant information to read, not pages total of advertising. Nobody likes to feel they are being sold to.

Your content can be educational, to share your innovation, look ahead to trends, explanatory, an opinion piece, or evidence-based if you have carried out research…
And all you have to do is to send your chosen title (remember – is your target audience reading it?) some details about it. 

You can write a full press release or send a pitch – the latter is a shorter summary of the main points and much easier to do. It’s also the better option if writing isn’t your forte, because it will give the editor all the main information quickly and easily – they don’t have much time and delete very quickly if things aren’t clear or take too much time to work out – get to the point straight away.

 

Conclusion
Marketing encompasses many aspects, but time spent on the foundations helps you build your company, reputation, reach, and sales in the future. It’s not just about ROI—it’s about establishing yourself as the company to choose above others. It needs a plan, a process, and, at all times, the aim of keeping ideal customers happy.